02:08 AM CST on Saturday, February 26, 2005
By C. ANTHONY MOSSER / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News

CARROLLTON – It seemed as if Plano's Class 5A area-round game with Irving would never end. When it did, so did Plano's season.

Irving (30-5) advanced to play Plano East in a regional semifinal.

"No comment," a distraught Plano coach Tom Inman said. "I don't want to say anything."

Plano (23-9) built a 38-25 lead with 4:55 left in the third quarter, then Irving rallied behind a pressing defense that forced seven turnovers in the quarter. Irving entered the fourth quarter trailing 45-38.

Irving's Marquez Haynes, who finished with a game-high 22 points, opened the quarter with a 3-pointer, and the teams were never separated by more than four points the rest of the way. Plano missed five of 13 free throws in the fourth and went scoreless from the field until Ware's 3 with 15.22 seconds left made it 57-56. Irving avoided getting fouled until 3.18 seconds remained. Tommy Moffitt converted both free throws.

After a timeout, Plano worked a play in which Ryan Manack threw the ball to Greg Boyer, who was also standing out-of-bounds. Boyer then threw the ball three-quarters of the way down the court to Mark Foster, but the buzzer sounded less than a second after Foster caught the inbound pass.

After a delay, Plano was permitted to inbound the ball again. Irving's Adron Tennell intercepted the length-of-the-court pass and tossed the ball in the air. The buzzer never sounded. Plano's Foster caught the ball and made a two-point shot that was disallowed. The clock had inadvertently been reset to 3:18. Plano was given another try, which ended in Ware's desperation 3-point miss.

"I just want to commend my seniors now," Inman said. "They worked really hard and fought through a lot. I know this game meant a lot to them. It's tough to see their season end this way."

Irving outscored Plano 21-11 in the fourth quarter. Eight of Irving's points came on putbacks.

Plano's Joseph Fulce scored 11 of his 19 points in the first half. Eric Zastoupil had 12 points, and Travis Vance added 11 points.